Amazing Spider-Man #16
Duel with Daredevil
Peter is given a hard time for not calling Mary Jane Watson and setting up a blind date with her. In order to get some peace and quiet, Pete heads out as Spider-Man. When swinging around, he notices a gang of criminals escaping with bags of money who decide to attack a nearby bystander who might place them at the crime scene. That witness is none other than Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil), but Spider-Man sees a poor blind man in need of help and rounds up the criminals. Foggy Nelson (Murdock's partner) and Karen Page (his secretary) are waiting on Matt in the office and invite him to go to the circus (despite his blindness) to have a good time.
At the circus, The Ringmaster and his crew prepare the final touches, falsely claiming that Spider-Man himself will show up for charity, to lure more people into their trap. The show begins and Spider-Man (feeling obligated because it's charity) appears, much to the crowd's delight, and gives off an acrobatic show like no other. The Ringmaster uses his hat to hypnotize not only the audience, but also Spider-Man, so he can rob them. Matt Murdock (not affected by the hypnosis) senses the disturbance and becomes Daredevil to take on the crooks.
The Ringmaster uses his hat to get Spider-Man to fight and protect him as he takes on Daredevil himself. After a brief fight, Daredevil grabs the hat with his cane and removes the spell on Spider-Man, then returns to the crowd as Matt Murdock. Spider-Man cleans up the rest of the carnival crooks by riding the Human Bullet and tying up the crooks. After the hypnosis is removed from the crowd, Matt naturally offers his services as a defense attorney to the now arrested Ringmaster.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Daredevil, Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant, Foggy Nelson, Karen Page, Circus of Crime (Ringmaster, Human Cannonball, Great Gambonos, Clown, Bruto the Strongman)
Continuity Notes
Aunt May mentions the idea of Peter going on a date with Mary Jane again. Peter skirts this idea until he is finally forced to meet her in Amazing Spider-Man #42.
Matt Murdock speculates that Spider-Man is about 17 years old in this story. However, he is a little off. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, less than a year has passed since Peter first got his powers in Amazing Fantasy #15. Per Civil War #2, Peter has stated he was 15 years old when he first got his powers.
The Ringmaster recounts how his Circus of Crime was previously defeated by the Hulk. That happened in Incredible Hulk #3.
This issue is set between Daredevil #3 and Daredevil #4.
